I am back and I got the Daring Bakers Challenge done!! First Challenge done in my new apartment, and luckily it was during the weekend before everything went to hell again... hopefully that is past well by next week at least, needless to say I was soo excited to get to try pizza, I have always wanted to!! And with my room mate here I can show off!! So I set out to do the Challenge 2 weekends ago. I inquire the roomy as to what he likes on said pizza. he perks up with ohh
Peperoni, onions, peppers, sausage and ohh BBQ sauce!! He looked at me and said..wait is that weird?? I laughed and said no I am upping you and doing BBQ Chicken on mine..oh wait.. I want yea...A hawiian BBQ chicken Pizza.. and that my party people is what I had!! SO I started the dough on Saturday, and I have to say.. I remembered why I shouldn't have let the Ex keep the kitchen aid, but then it did my arms some good to beat the dough to submission!! Though I had to read and reread it cause I kept thinking It had to rise first, not just go to the pan, but i went to the website and my pages and followed it exactly.. wonderful smooth dough.. chillin in the fridge. I then went shopping to get my needs.. I had a plain chicken breast grilled off at work, Peperoni, some virginia baked ham slices, can of pineapple, and 2 bags of cheese, 1 mozzarella and 1 italian cheese blend. I waited patiently.. pizza tomorrow...
I set out at 2pm..ok I have 2 hrs for it to rest and then am good to go. SO I waited more..And finally... finally I had my 2 hrs..and well no damn pizza stone, so it was the back of my pan i had out as the oven heated. I yelled for the roomy and said ok, you have to take some pics.. I am to toss it so take pics!! Its really not easy to get the pizza in the air.. but we pulled it off. I did his first. I forgot the sausage though =(. Ok my issues with the recipe.. you put everything on it and bake the dough, awesome, yeah, was not finished it was still soft in the center. Gorgeous, omg was it the most tasty looking pizza I was sooo proud and it smelled great, but it was not done =(. So for my pizza, I tossed and baked a few minutes first, then.. I put on the toppings and baked it the rest of the way. Came out awesome.
And after tasting a piece of mine, we woofed that one down and left half of his. I did save 1 of my 4 dough pieces.. and on the 3rd you ask what I did.. I made Carmel Apple Pizza!! I had to make sweet!! its just..well the way it works!! It was yummy, but..too much carmel and the apples made so much juice it thinned the carmel and ran to the bottom of the oven and burnt and set off my smoke alarms haha. But yummy it was.. just need to tweak ;) But tasty it was...SO with our further ado..the reciep!!
**Let it be known this Challenge was Chosen in Memory of Sherry Who tragically passed away on July 20, 2008, Thanks Rosa and Glenna For the awesome Challenge and the Memory of Sherry!
EQUIPMENT: Stand mixer with paddle and dough hook attachments (optional, see recipe), cooking thermometer, baking sheet, parchment paper, cooking oil, plastic wrap, pizza peel/scraper, pizza stone or pan.
~ BASIC PIZZA DOUGH ~
Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.
Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).
Ingredients:
4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) Unbleached high-gluten (%14) bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled - FOR GF: 4 ½ cups GF Flour Blend with xanthan gum or 1 cup brown rice flour, 1 cup corn flour, 1 cup oat flour, 1 ½ cup arrowroot, potato or tapioca starch + 2 tsp xanthan or guar gum
1 3/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Instant yeast - FOR GF use 2 tsp
1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) Olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but it’s better with)
1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)
1 Tb sugar - FOR GF use agave syrup
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting
DAY ONEMethod:
1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).
2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.
NOTE: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time.The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water.
The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.
2. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.
3. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).
NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.
4. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.
NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.
5. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.
6. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.
NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil(a few tablespooons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.
DAY TWO
7. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.
8. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).
NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.
9. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.
NOTE: Make only one pizza at a time.
During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping.
In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.
You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.
10. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.
11. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.
NOTE: Remember that the best pizzas are topped not too generously. No more than 3 or 4 toppings (including sauce and cheese) are sufficient.
12. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for abour 5-8 minutes.
NOTE: After 2 minutes baking, take a peek. For an even baking, rotate 180°.
If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly pane to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly.
13. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.
I loved this recipe it was tons of fun, and will definitely use it again!! More pizza to come!! And let it be known.. I do not particularly like the pics of me, not the best thats for damn sure!! lol Enjoy and try some homemade pizza!!
